Sliding drawer assembly



INVENTORS Harveywla Branche J. Cha PIeS Preble BruceK. Boundy Oct. 10, 1961 H. w. LA BRANCHE ET AL SLIDING DRAWER ASSEMBLY Filed March 3l, 1958 United States Patent O.F

Y SLIDING DRAWER ASSEMBLY Harvey W. La Branche, .lames Charles Preble, and Bruce' K. Boundy, Tacoma, Wash., assignors, by mestre' asf signments, toEkco Products Company, Chicago, IH., aI

corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 31, 1958, Ser. No. 725,106 3 Claims. (Cl. 3124-348) This invention relates to sliding drawer assemblies. It pertains particularly to assemblies lincluding a plastic drawer intended for' use in kitchen cabinet -and like installations.

This application is a continuation in part of the application of J. Charles Preble, Serial No. 690,004, tiled October 14, 1957, for Drawer Assembly.

While drawers made of plastic have many advantages which make them well suited for kitchen cabinet use, their application is attended by the disadvantage that they tend to break at the points of attachment to the various components of the drawer assembly. Also, -itis diieult to integrate them into the assemblies conventionally employed in cabinet construction.

Accordingly the general object of the present invention is to provide a drawer assembly which may include a plastic drawer durably secured to the other components of the assembly.

It is another object of this invention to provide a= drawer assembly which is rigid and strong even though it includes a plastic 4drawer of a `flexible and somewhat fang-iblecharacter.

It is another object of this invention to provide a drawer assembly which lits snugly intothe drawer open ing, yet operates easily without chatter.

It is another object of this invention to provide a drawer` assembly which is provided with front and rear stopsl which limit the drawer travel and absorb the shock of opening and closing the drawer.

It is another object of this inventionv to provide a drawer assembly which is easily installed, and easily removed for cleaning.

It is another object of this invention'V to providel a drawer assembly which is versatile in' that it may be `installed in either standard or non-standard drawer openings of di'- verse depths and widths.

The manner in which the foregoing and other objects' of this invention are accomplished will be apparent from the accompanying` speciiication and claims considered together with the drawings, whereinl like" numerals of referenceindicate like parts andV wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the herein described sliding drawer assembly;

lIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken along line .2J-L2 of Fl l;

FIGS. 3 and 4 lare detail sectional views taken along lines 3-3 and 4-4 of FIG. l1 respectively;

FIG. 5 is a detail sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 5 but illustrating the application of the invention to assemblies including a wooden drawer; and

FIG. 7 is va plan view illustrating the manner in which the presently described drawer assembly may be used in drawer openings of non-standard width.

1n the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a drawer, preferably one -made of molded plastic. The two longitudinal edges of the drawer are formed with integral, outwardly extending flanges 12, 14. The front wall is for-med with a similar flange 16 and the rear wall with a flange 18. It is preferred to form these ilanges as a continuous flange member extending outwardly .ffrom the entire periphery of the drawer in the manner illustrated.

3,003,841 Patented Oct. 10, 1961.,

A face panelv 20 made from wood or other suitable material is dimensioned to overlie the front of the drawer.- It may .be of either the ilush type or lip type, and is` formed with a groove extending longitudinally along the upper part of its inner face. This groove is designed to receive llange 16.

'The drawer assembly -further includes a pair of slide members 22 of substantially identical construction and mounted one on each side of the drawer. In theillustrated forniV of the invention, each slide member comprises an elongated, reversely bentk strip of metal dimensionedtoreceive and to be crimped'over the side anges of the drawer in the manner indicated particularly in FIG.Y 5`.- This affords 'a means for holdingthe slide member securely ink place without the necessity of drilling or otherwise mutilating the flange of the drawer which, if the drawer be made of plastic, might be easily damagedy by suchV a.' procedure.

As isI shownparticularly in FG'. 3, the slide members are formed with integral downwardly bent tabs 24-whch may be attached by screws or other sui-table means to theA inside face ofk `face panel 20.

To assist in controlling the travel of the drawer in and out of the drawer opening, a block 2-6 of plastic or other suitable material is secured tothe inner end of each of the slide members. The block preferably is formed with a slot dimensionedto receive the overlying, registeringedges; of the slide member and drawer in the manner illustratedx in FIG. 4. Each block is `formed Iwith a projection 28" adapted to be` inserted in a corresponding opening in the upper surface of slide member Z2, thereby securing the` block in place. Also, each block is formed with aY beveled' surface 30'l to assist in introducing the drawer into the drawer opening. y Y

Cooperating with slide members 22 are a pair of guide members or tracks 32.- Each of these may be formedin three longitudinal sections: aceiling section `34, a side wall section 36, and a iioor section 3:8. A forward einen#Y sion 40 and a rearward extension'42. ar'eperforatedand alord means of aixing the' guide members to cabinet or frame members 44 (FIG. l). Itis to be noted that the rearward extension 4Zl is of substantial length so thatl it' may be bent at right angles as shown in the latter ligure'.v This makes possible adjusting the overall lengthl of the" guide by bending it at the appropriate place. It also makes possible fastening the guide securely sincev it may' be attached to both the side frame member andltlie rear frame member which dene the drawer opening.

Means-are provided in the guide members for the rdrawer travel both inwardly and outwardly. To-

which ablrts` againstV back wall 50 when the drawer" is' l closed.

It is to be noted that in the closed position'ace panel 20 remains spaced slightly from the f-rame containing the drawer. As a consequence, block 26 absorbs the shock of closing and prevents the inertia of the drawer and its contents from tearing the drawer loose from the face panel.

The guide members also are provided with a second pocket 52 which, like pocket 48 is designed to accommodate block 26. A projection lS4 is formed in the ceiling of the guide member directly above the pocket. This serves as an abutment or stop which engages the block during outward travel of the drawer, limiting its extension. Still, the drawer may be easily Iinserted and removed from the opening by tilting it at an angle at which block 26 traverses pocket 52 and then is elevated to a plane at which, on reverse motion, it will engage projection 54.

An `angular pad 56 is mounted in the floor of guideway 32 near the outer end thereof. It engages the underside of slide 22 and maintains the slide level when it is in its 3 operative position. A knob 58 is provided on the face panel for the usual purpose.

The presently described assembly is adaptable for use not only with plastic drawers in the manner described above but also with the conventional wooden drawers. The manner in which this may be accomplished is lillustrated in FIG. 6.

In accordance with this embodiment the wooden drawer 60 carries a longitudinal ange 62 which is analogous in function to the integral side flanges 1'2, 14 of the plastic drawer. Thus this flange mounts slide 22 which is in sliding engagement with pad 56 in guides 32.

Still further, the presently described assembly is adaptable for use in drawer openings of non-standard width. This feature of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 7.

In this embodiment guide members 64, which correspond in function to guide member 32 described above, are provided with forward and rearward extensions 66, 68, respectively. These may be bent as required to space the guide member inwardly from the frame member 44 to the extent required to locate the drawer properly.

Thus it will be apparent that by the present invention we have provided a drawer assembly which is particularly adaptable for use with plastic drawers, being designed to mount them in such a manner that they are not damaged during installation and use. Furthermore, the extent of drawer travel is limited to a practical working range without detracting from the ease with which 4the drawer may be inserted into and removed from the drawer opening, as required for installation and cleaning. Furthermore, the assembly accommodates drawers of non-standard size and makes possible their operation easily and without chatter.

It is to be understood that the form of our invention herewith shown and described, is to `be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of our invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described our invention we claim:

l. A drawer assembly comprising -a drawer, a face panel, a pair of elongated slides aiiixed to the lateral sides of the drawer, a pair of elongated guides dimensioned to receive the slides, and means for aflxing the guides in spaced apart relation to a stationary support on which the drawer assembly is to be mounted, at least one of the guides including integral ceiling, side wall and oor segments, the oor segment being formed with spaced central and rearward pockets, the rearward pocket terminating in a vertical abutment, the ceiling being formed with an integral abutment positioned above the central pocket, and the associated slide mounting a block dimensioned for reception in the central pocket and positioned for engagement with the abutment above the central pocket upon sliding movement of the drawer to its open position, said block being engageable with the rearward pocket vertical abutment in its closed position, the forward'length of the i means for atlixing the forward ends of the slides to the face panel to `form a rigid drawer supporting frame, a pair of elongated guides, at least one of the guides having a rearward pocket terminating in a Vertical abutment and the associated slide mounting a block, said block being engageable with the rearward pocket vertical abutment in its closed position, the forward length of the guide to said vertical abutment being less than the length of the drawer for limiting inward travel of the drawer to prevent abutment of the face panel.

3. A drawer assembly comprising a frangible drawer portion depending from an upper, outwardly projecting flange extending longitudinally along each side, a pair of elongated rigid slides, gripping means for aiixing the slides one to each of the longitudinal flanges, a rigid face panel, means for aflixing the forward ends of the slides to the face panel to form a rigid drawer supporting frame, a pair of elongated guides dimensioned to receive the slides, at least one of the guides including integral ceiling, side wall and floor segments, the oor segment being formed with spaced central and rearward pockets, the rearward pocket terminating in a vertical abutment, the ceiling being formed with an integral abutment positioned above the central pocket, and the associated slide mounting a block dimensioned for reception in the central pocket and posiy tioned for engagement with the abutment above the central pocket upon sliding movement of the drawer to its open position, said block being engageable with the rearward pocket vertical abutment in its closed position, the forward length of the guide to said vertical abutment being less than the length of the drawer for limiting inv/ard travel of the drawer to prevent abutment of the face panel.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,050,810 Scheuer Aug. ill, 1936 2,236,557 Zalkind Apr. l, 194l 2,425,610 Finley Aug. l2, 1947 2,487,356 Meiners Nov. 8, 1949 2,494,221 Wojakowski Jan. l0. 1950 2,550,980 Drake May l, ll 2,606,091 Buchy Aug. 5, 1952 2,696,419 Wallance Dec. 7, 1954 2,697,916 Alsing Dec. 28, 1954 2,822,232 Lhota Feb. 4, 1958 v FOREIGN PATENTS 52,534 Switzerland lune 3, 1910 

